Memories
by da Panda
Summary: Her name was Emerald, and her best friend always cared for her...but after going on a journey to recover her amnesia, she returns...and he is madly and irresistably in love with her. JackxOC, slight JackxSally


Summary: Another one of those teenage girls is sucked into Halloween Town and befriends Jack Skellington fics…except with a twist.

_A young girl around five years old is found hiding in Halloween Town, not remembering how or why she wound up there. Jack finds her and raises her as a little sister…but seven years later, she goes on a journey to find her memories…and three and a half years pass before she finally returns…and Jack has the hots for his "Little Sis"_

Chapter One: How it began

She wore a yellow, long-sleeved dress, brown boots, and her red hair was very long, reaching down to her ankles. Her bright green eyes sparkled in the tears she cried. She was in a dark, unfamiliar place. The eerie feeling gave her uncomfortable chills throughout her body…she didn't know her name, where she was, or really _who_ she was. She just woke up in this dark and creepy scenery, and confused, she only wept. As she continued weeping throughout the minutes and minutes, she heard footsteps coming near her. She looked up and pushed hair out of her sight…and saw a very, very tall skeleton standing in front of her. For a skeleton, though, he was quite charming. She didn't really notice much about his charms because of her misery, and she only looked down at her brown boots. For some odd reason, she wasn't that all that afraid since this skeleton stood in front of her presence. He bent down to look into her face.

"Little girl…are you lost or something?" He asked very gently. She looked up, pushing aside her strands of hair once more. She stared into his face…

"I…don't even know who I am, mister." She spoke up, softly, but loud enough for him to hear her voice. He seemed a bit confused by this response from the girl.

"Well…do you know your name?" The skeleton asked her. She shook her head, the hair falling back in front of her face once more. He gave her a nice smile as he tucked the fallen hair behind her pale ears, and he finally saw her emerald green eyes, shining brightly and beautifully through the darkness. "What pretty eyes you have." The girl touched her face, not knowing what the color of her eyes were

"Are they blue? Hazel? Gray?"

"A pretty green…like emeralds…" The skeleton grinned, stroking her red locks. "That is what I shall call from this day forward, my dear child…Emerald." The girl glanced up at him and smiled. He helped her up and she could do nothing but hug him, wrapping her arms around his leg.

"Thank you…for giving me my name…" Emerald said…now crying tears of happiness.

………

_3 years later…_

"Emmi! Where are you?"

"I'm coming!" Emerald, now age eight, happily ran out of her room and hugged Jack. Her hair was still very long, reaching down to her ankles still, except she cut bangs across her forehead. Emmi was a part of Halloween Town now. She didn't find monsters frightening, and only saw them as her friends and fellow neighbors. One of her closer friends was Sally the rag doll, who made a new dress for her every six months or so, because of how fast she was growing. The dresses Sally made for her usually consisted of the colors black and different shades of gray. This time, she wore a long-sleeved, light gray dress. And yes, she still had that fantastic glow in her gorgeous green eyes. Jack patted her on the head.

"Now, Emmi, I need you to do a little shopping today," Jack said. "Here's the grocery list. You just need some Witch hazel, some toad's feet, and a handful of bat's eyes. Can you get them for me?" Emmi nodded happily. She loved to go outside.

"I'll be back in a little bit! You can count on me, big brother!" Emmi ran downstairs and opened the door to go outside. She closed it behind, now opening up the gates as she ran into town to a nearby shop.

…

She came outside of the shop, carrying a basket full of the materials from the list. She then spotted three ghoul children, around her age, playing jump rope. She stood there and watched them for a bit, hearing them laugh, as one would make an accident while jumping over the long rope. Emmi smiled and walked up to the three ghouls.

"Is there any room for one more jumper? This game looks like a lot of fun to me." Emmi grinned at the children, who weren't all that familiar with Emmi's presence. The three looked at each other, then back at Emmi.

"Sorry, but only scary kids can play with us." A ghoul boy said. The three pointed and laughed at Emmi.

"She doesn't even have scars! No bones showing, no scary costume, NOTHING!" The three continued to laugh as Emmi…felt horrible inside. She bit her lip as she ran to her home, tossing the gates open, running quickly up the stairs to the front door. She opened it and went up the stairs to where Jack was. He was expecting Emmi to smile and say "I'm back" gleefully, but he was rather shocked when she saw her toss the basket on the ground and run into the bathroom, keeping the door wide open. Emmi rummaged through the drawers and finally saw what she wanted…a pair of scissors. Jack was walking towards to bathroom…when he saw red hair all over the floor. Emmi's beautiful, long red hair was now neck-length. She wept, cried, the tears streaming down continuously.

"Emmi…what's wrong?" He asked her a bit frantically.

"Don't you see, Jack?" Emmi began, wiping some tears away, only causing others to replace them. "No matter how I look, I am not good enough to belong in this place. I'm different from the rest of the people in this town!" Emmi walked past Jack and went into her room, slamming the door and burying her entire body under the covers.

I don't even know who I am…

………

The years passed, and Emmi was growing up. Unlike others in Halloween Town, she was pretty much the only one who actually grew up, getting taller, et cetera. She hid her true emotions inside, the emotions that made her wonder who she was, and why she ended up in Halloween Town. She didn't belong in Halloween Town. But…a little after Emmi had turned twelve, an urge had appeared in Emmi's mind…an urge to figure out the almost impossible.

………

It was another normal day. Emmi actually liked her hair shorter and always kept it neck-length since she had cut it…and, still, her green eyes sparkled and dazzled. But on this particular day, she was in no mood to lie around the house…she had a vision…a vision of her past. She wanted to find her memories…she wanted to know how and why she wound up in the middle of Halloween Town. She grabbed all she needed and stuffed it in a large, brown suitcase she had found in Jack's room. She wore her black, lacey dress today and she stuffed every last thing in her large pockets and the suitcase. Jack entered her room…and found her sitting on the suitcase, waiting for it to completely shut full of her belongings.

"Emmi…what's going on here?" Jack wondered. Emmi looked up to see her skeleton friend.

"Jack…I'm sorry about all of this, but," Emmi looked down at her black boots, then she looked at her dearest friend. "But laying around the house without knowing who I really am is not the answer for me! I have to do SOMETHING to find out about myself! Something! Anything!" Emmi said with some anger. Jack paused and said nothing as he stared at the suitcase. Emmi got up from it and grabbed the handle of the suitcase. She then looked up at Jack.

"Emmi." He said. "Emmi, when will you come back?"

"A week, a month, a year, ten years…" Emmi replied. "I will never really know. But I WILL come back, you can bet on that." Emmi gave her best friend a long, long hug.

"Goodbye Jack."

And then she went down the stairs, exited through the gate, and never returned after that day…

…

3 and a half years later…

Halloween Town never seemed to change. The graveyard still looked the same after the many years, and the townspeople never changed their creepy personalities. But she was surprised that no one really recognized her, trudging through the town with two large suitcases. She wore a black corset with a black mini-skirt, and she wore shiny black boots, black shoelaces going up the entire boot. The footsteps of those boots echoed on the brick grounds as she went past the green fountain, the guillotine, and the many houses. Yes, nothing changed after these many, many years gone. Then, she finally came to a halt in front of the gates leading up to his house. She inhaled, exhaled, and finally opened the gates. Trudging the two heavy suitcases up the small set of stairs wore her out when she finally pulled the spider doorbell. The doorbell chimed inside the house and she stood there, waiting. She heard the footsteps come down the stairs, and she didn't know exactly what to do. She quickly grabbed her light gray cloak and covered up her body, putting a shadow upon her face, just in time as the door opened widely in front of her. He still lived here, Jack.

"Um…hello there, Miss. Can I help you?" He asked, not knowing whom the figure truly was.

"Er…yes, kind sir," The girl said, disguising her voice as an old crone. "I have traveled through many places, and I have never been so exhausted and weakened. Could you lend me a place to stay for a short while?" Jack blinked, then kindly smiled.

"Of course, of course. Come in, and I'll help you with those heavy bags of yours there." Jack said, opening the door wider to help the fake crone inside his humble home. It still looked the same, even the staircase leading up to his home. She quickly hurried up the stairs. The upstairs hadn't changed, either. She walked around, still holding the cloak around her entire body. She walked over to a small table. A photo frame…with a picture of her and her dear friend…she was a lot younger back then, and dumber. She then spotted a closed door near her eyesight…and that door lead to a place she spent a lot of her time in. She was walking over towards it, and opened the doorknob, as she heard Jack coming up the stairs. He noticed her curiosity, and he set the suitcases down and walked over as she entered the room. It was completely different. It was blank, empty, and only the neatly made bed was the thing that was left by her.

"Ma'am, is there something wrong? You seem…unrelieved." Jack stated. The girl hiding underneath the light gray cloak shook her head, turning around to face the skeleton.

"Tis nothing, kind sir." She responded. He gave her a small smile…until he then noticed something strange…while she looked up; he saw a glimmer…like a gem. He looked closer and saw it once more. It was…bright green. The girl saw his discovery, and she hid her face once more. That didn't stop him, though, as he was still curious about this woman.

"DON'T LOOK AT ME!" She shouted, forgetting to cover up her true voice. He blinked as she ran past him, going to the bathroom, and she slammed the door. She opened it up again. "I shall use this to clean up, thank you." She said, almost whispering. She shut the door again. She removed the cloak and looked at herself in the mirror after she turned on the shower water. Emmi was so scared to be back in her home, especially with her friend suspecting her presence.

"Why am I still hiding?" She whispered to her cowardly self. She then heard the bathroom door…and she had no time to reach her cloak, as Jack was holding towels, placing them on the bathroom counter.

"Here are some towels, because you'll probably need them while—." He stopped mid-sentence as he stared at the figure, cloak-less. Her heart dropped into a deep pit…her cover was blown, and her true self was revealed. He did nothing but stare and, soon, a huge smile went across his face as he ran as fast as he could, tackling his long-lost friend. "EMMI! YOU'RE BACK! YOU'RE BACK!" He shouted happily. She did nothing but shake her head and laugh, hugging her friend back. After what seemed like hours of hugging, Jack finally let go and got a look at his friend, who was more like a little sister. She wore a completely different outfit from when he saw her last, where she only wore a black dress with laces. Now, she wore a shiny black corset with white laces, a black mini-skirt, and shiny black boots with black shoelaces going up them both. Her hair was the same, neck-length, and her bangs were the same, as well. And her glimmering emerald green eyes didn't change, either. He was then shocked at how much taller she grew…and how…uh… "Womanly" she became. Her legs were long and smooth…and her chest was a lot, er, fuller than last. Heck, she was practically flat chested when he saw her the day she left the home.

"Yes, I did grow up, thank you very much." Emmi spoke up, noticing Jack's shock to her legs and chest. She walked out of the bathroom, turning off the shower water. Jack followed her out and she sat in a comfortable chair.

"So…where were you this entire time?" Jack asked her. Emmi looked over at him.

"That's what I am going to talk about with you, my friend." She replied. He nodded and sat down in his comfy sofa as she cleared her throat.

"It took me a day to get out of Halloween Town as I traveled through the forests. I was really expecting you to follow me, but you actually let me go, which kind of surprised me. Well, after that long day of walking around in the middle of the woods, I finally saw this hollow tree where it had a big, white door on it. Not knowing really what to expect, it was the entrance to the human world. I ended up in a small, friendly little town called Spirit. I stayed there for a bit to regain my energy before I left that place, getting help from a young man named Darien, who knew the tale of a red-head girl in a yellow dress who had gone missing seven years ago at that time." Emmi cleared her throat once more, noticing how interested Jack was in with her tale.

"He guided me for four days to the city of New York. The city was so large for my size, I didn't know where to go, as Darien had to go back to his hometown of Spirit. I wandered around until I found a job at a café…and it looked so familiar. I then regained a memory, my first memory I had remembered from my past EVER. I used to go to this café with my parents…but the flashback never really made out their faces, only their bodies' neck and below. I worked there for two and a half months. One day, the cops came in and arrested the owner of the café, and I ran, far, into the depths of the city. I stayed in a dark alley for six days, no food, no water, nothing. Then, a couple of teenagers around my age found me and took them in to stay at their apartment…and I had stayed with them for over a year." Jack nodded his head. Emmi sighed.

"Unfortunately, the people I were staying with weren't the most behaved people, either. The police tracked them down, too, and I was soon thrown into prison, with no crime. I stayed there for about three months or so, treated poorly, like pretty much all prison inmates. My fourteenth birthday passed, and on the day I turned fourteen, my friends helped me escape, and they sacrificed themselves to get me out of there. As I saw them die, I had more memories come into me…and not very nice ones, either. I remembered that both my parents were shot, dead. I saw their faces, now, and they were both very attractive people, with my eyes. I looked up at the killer, and didn't get much of his appearance in my mind. I ran and hid outside of New York City, since I didn't feel like I belonged there anymore. I was close to turning back to Halloween Town at that time, but in two days, I changed my mind, and I turned in another direction…back to the town of Spirit. I reunited with Darien, who was now married to a young girl named Katy and her infant son, Arthur. I stayed with them for a short week, until Katy said that the girl with long red hair in the yellow dress always hung around a cemetery very far from the town of Spirit. I decided to go. Alone, I walked for four weeks to that cemetery they spoke of. I wandered around in it, and I saw the gravestones of my mother and father…I knew it was their graves, because I had another memory regained at that exact moment. I was standing by their graves, crying…and the killer returned, and he abducted me." Emmi continued her story.

"I got out of the memory, and turned around, to see Darien. I soon found out that he had followed me for the tiring four weeks I had traveled to the graveyard. At first, I was relieved to see his presence near mine…but then I had noticed something suspicious…he was alone, not with his wife or child, and he revealed something unexpectedly horrifying. He was the murderer of my parents AND my abductor. He then kidnapped me once more and brought me to his lair. He locked me in a dungeon, where I was surrounded by information of my past. I stole the files where I got the information, and everything made sense. Darien and Katy were friends of my mother and father, and they worked together in New York City. After my parents had me as their child, Darien and Katy got jealous of them having a child. Not only that, but the unlucky couple also struggled with the job they had, which was my father's company. After five years passed, Darien and his spouse had enough, and they ended their friendship with my father and mother…the harder and crueler way, that is. They let me live, and I never got over my parent's death. I visited their graves every other day…and Darien found me, and kidnapped me as his prisoner. The couple experimented on me…giving me a potion, which erased all of my memories. Not knowing where to hide me, as the police were suspicious of the couple, they threw me in a hollow tree, which was the entrance to Halloween Town. I awoke in the forest, wandering around for hours and hours, until I stopped in one of the darker alleys of Halloween Town…and not long after, you found me, Jack Skellington." Emmi gave her dearest friend a kind and thanking smile.

"As I was in that dark and cold dungeon, I hid the files in my suitcase. I hid others in another suitcase, which was probably Darien's. I stayed in the dungeon, and my fifteenth birthday passed. I awoke one morning, about two weeks after my fifteenth birthday, and I found an escape under hollow bricks. I escaped right on time, as the couple was about to poison me with the amnesia potion once more. I saw where I was a couple of days later on a map nearby, and I was far from the town of Spirit. It took me half a year to get from one state to another…I got help from a lot of people willing to pick me up in their vehicles. I found my outfit in the state of Iowa in the middle of my journey, as I had my black, lacey dress for the entire journey, and it was getting so small for me. I made it back to the town of Spirit, where I learned that Darien and Katy were hot on my trail. I immediately went inside of the Hollow Tree, with my two suitcases, and for three days, I traveled through the forests of Halloween Town…and now I have returned, safe from the two for now." Emmi looked up at Jack, who now understood how everything came into present time…and why Emmi was sitting in his most comfortable chair in his house. He smiled, stood up, and hugged Emmi one more time.

"I'm sorry, my friend, but at least you have come back to me." He whispered. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around him. Her brother, well, in her eyes. Her bright green eyes

…

It was a little past midnight, and Jack couldn't sleep. He was far too happy to be resting. Jack didn't know exactly what to do, so, he grabbed the nearest photo album and opened its contents. The first picture he saw was a picture of him and a younger version of Emmi, and they were sitting on the stairs, smiling happily and enthusiastically at the camera. Jack slightly smiled at this certain photograph. He glanced up at Emmi, who didn't bother going to her old bedroom to sleep, as she slept on the chair instead. He smiled at her…but, then, he felt this odd feeling. Warmth inside of his bones…it made him feel extremely different. He stood up, setting the photo album down beside him, and he walked up closer to his "little sister". All he could think about was how much she had grown…and he blushed as he glanced away from looking at her chest. Emerald shifted to another position in her special dreamland as she sighed, finally relaxing after a long journey she had over the past three and a half years. Jack felt his face flush once more…and he realized the feeling he had, and was completely and utterly terrified by it.

"I'm in love with Emmi."

…

It was near 3:00 in the morning while Emmi sat up from a rather disturbing dream. She clenched her arms and looked around the room, noticing that Jack had fallen asleep on the sofa. She smiled a bit and grabbed her gray cloak from the bathroom, which was still lying on the floor, and she sat back down in the chair…

Emmi, age seven

"Hey, Jack, I never noticed how comfy this chair is! It's amazingly comfy!" Emmi squealed in delight as her petite figure sunk in the cushion of the chair. Jack walked into the room and patted her on the head.

"Well, you've been here for a little over two years now, Emmi, I'm rather surprised you had noticed." Jack grinned as he set down a black photo album cover. Emmi blinked a few times.

"Jack, what's that?" She wondered.

"Why, this, Emmi, is a photo album. We need to put pictures of us in here to preserve our memories." Jack responded, rummaging through a cardboard box. He pulled out some pictures, but noticed something was not right. "Why, there doesn't seem to be any photos of us. Well, I HAVEN'T taken any pictures of you, Emmi, so, that may be the problem." Emmi blinked a couple more times as she slid down from the chair and walked over to Jack.

"Shouldn't we find a camera to take pictures then? That would answer it!" She stated. Jack took a few strands of her hair and played with them.

"That's a wonderful idea, my flower. I believe we have a camera nearby somewhere." Jack said, rummaging through more and more dusty cardboard boxes. Emmi started rummaging through some as well, only falling into them because of how small she was. She fell into a larger one. When Jack helped her stand up, she grabbed a hold of an item inside of the box. The camera was found.

"Hey, Jack, this is it!"

"Excellent! Now, where should we take our first picture of each other?" Jack wondered. Emmi wondered too, putting her hand on her chin.

"Hmm…oh! Maybe the stairs?"

"That's a great start! To the stairs!" Jack guided little Emerald to the stairs. They sat down on a step and Jack held up the camera far as he could from his face by holding it, positioning it in front of the two's faces. "One, two, three smile!" The two grinned and the flash was small as the picture was taken.

…

Emmi smiled and laughed a bit as she remembered how many pictures they took that day, and how long it spent to put the pictures into the photo album. Emmi looked over at Jack, and then noticed something beside him. It was the album.

"I guess I was not the only one who brought out some memories today." Emmi whispered to herself. She stood up and walked over, sneaking past Jack, and sat down next to his sleeping self. She opened up the album and saw the picture…the picture she remembered they had taken together. She smiled, and she looked at more pictures of her younger self with Jack, whose appearance didn't change much. For nearly an hour, she had looked at that photo album…and memories she had nearly forgotten about her life in Halloween Town…her only life…she forgot how memorable they were.

And while thinking about this, she had fallen asleep; photo album spread open on her lap, as she leaned her head against Jack's shoulder to finally fall asleep once more.

…

It was finally morning, and Jack awoke, expecting to see the beautiful Emmi asleep on the chair still. But, when he saw her beautiful figure was gone, he then noticed something breathing next to him. He looked over and saw her, asleep, her head leaning against his arm. He blushed as he finally smiled and stroked her smooth red hair, slowly, gently, while the sun was rising up slowly and gently.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER TWO:

Hi! Panda Flash!

I don't know why I typed this, I suppose I was bored out of my mind, but it took me a few days to write, so there.

I really like Nightmare Before Christmas, and I totally forgot how awesome it was until I watched it again the other day. I was amused all over again, and I typed this up, using my wondrous imagination.

So, anyway, the next chapter is about Jack's feelings still bubbling up about Emerald! Oh, yeah, and Sally will come into the picture pretty soon…

There will be about four or five chapters in this story, so, it's not the longest story ever…well, maybe it is, because it has lots of words in it and stuff like that. Well, hope you keep reading and enjoying this! Hopefully I'll update the chapters sooner than I plan to in the future! SEE YAS!


End file.
